Bathed in Blood
by Dark Maiden95
Summary: Set during Sonic Heroes. During his quest to stop "Eggman" from conquering the world, Sonic's friend Mallory is brutally murdered by the real villain. But nothing is quite as it seems with her...


**Hello, reader(s)! This is just a character study of my own Sonic OC that I cranked out when I was bored. Not sure if it will spawn a full-blown story, or just more one-shots. You be the judge!**

* * *

A loud cry of pain echoed through the small alleyway as a middle-aged man clutched his head, having been thrown rather violently down to the ground. His cloudy blue eyes shot open in horror as footsteps approached ominously. Terrified, the man tried to back away from his attacker, hitting his head on the wall.

"N-no, no please! Don't hurt me, I'll never try to hurt anyone again, man or woman! I swear, I'll never force myself on a woman again! Just please don't kill me!"

The man's assailant: a seventeen-year-old girl. Her pitch-black hair draped around her dead white face, her skin tone even further accented by the pale moonlight. Glowing in the darkness were a set of piercing, blood-red eyes, filled with hate as she looked down at her sniveling prey.

_Oh? And why would I spare your miserable life? Did you not deliberately try to kidnap me on my way home from the mall and drag me to this alley? Did you not try to rip my clothes off and force your hideous self on me, to rob me of my no-longer-existent honor, pride, and identity as a real human being?!_ The girl's thoughts were clear as day, she did not need her voice to express her hatred towards this human. _And to make matters worse, here you are, whining and pleading with me for mercy._ _Sorry, but I don't make deals with worthless piles of shit like you, least of all when they cry like little girls._

The already frightened man cried out and shivered as the teenage girl let out a loud sound, some sort of cross between a roar and a hiss. When she opened her mouth, the man froze at the sight: four long, dagger-like fangs glinted in the moonlight.

Spitting furiously on the ground, the teen stalked towards the helpless man and knelt down into the moonlight, seizing him by his collar. His eyes widened in shock as he studied her face and recognized her.

"Wait, aren't you that girl-"

Without an ounce of remorse, she bit viciously into the would-be rapist's neck, sucking hungrily. His blood tasted sweet, surprisingly. Sweet and warm. Just the way she liked it. As the life ebbed from the man's eyes, the girl stopped drinking, no longer thirsty at all. She had done it again. She had gone and murdered another living human. For the most part, she was good, and only drank from bagged blood that was about to expire at the hospital; it was true that the only humans she took from were evil ones, murderers, rapists, the works; but they were still human beings. None of them truly deserved to die.

How could she have been so stupid? So ignorant? Why hadn't she predicted that the murderous, power-hungry villain would come after her? He was Sonic's bitter enemy, after all (well, apart from Dr. Eggman, that was.) It was a simple act, a simple act that had saved Sonic the Hedgehog's life. And in the end, it had cost the seventeen-year-old Mallory Grace Raldons her own life.

In life, she had possessed sparkling blue eyes, matching the blue blur's quills perfectly. Her skin hadn't been extremely tan, but it wasn't stark-pale either. Just about right, Mallory thought. On her head, thick ebony locks, with just a tiny hint of navy hung down halfway to the deceased teen's elbows. Now Mallory's eyes were a bright scarlet; they almost seemed to glow at night. Her skin had lost nearly all color, and felt almost the same, except for a slight clamminess. In the teen's mouth was a set of four fangs; not extremely long, but razor sharp, capable of tearing through or crushing almost anything. They were a constant reminder of what she'd become the instant her killer had struck. A freak. A monster.

A vampire.

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

As far back as Mallory could remember, she'd lived in Station Square. She had called its orphanage home for fourteen years, from age three to seventeen. On the night of Mallory's third birthday, the first – and last – vampire she'd ever encountered broke into her family's home. The demon helped himself to the blood of her mother, father, and older brother. Finally he turned to the petrified toddler, but her dying father managed to reach for his special gun and shoot the monster right in the chest. Both of Mallory's parents were highly skilled vampire hunters. Even with the fatal injury, the vampire crawled over to Mallory and sank his dagger-like fangs into the girl's neck, and the miniature child shrieked in terror. But nothing happened. No sucking, no new pain, nothing. Then, without warning, the dead man slumped to the floor, gone for good this time. Rushing over to her fallen family, Mallory tried desperately to wake them. As it dawned on her that they were gone, the human cub began to weep again, soon bawling at the top of her lungs.

Then, fate took over once again.

By pure chance, the world renowned hero, Sonic the Hedgehog had been rushing home during a late-night jog, and heard the child's screams. Screeching to a dead halt, the azure teen's emerald eyes widened a little in fear at the sight of broken glass spread all over the lawn. Slowly opening the front door, so not to scare the already terrified child inside, Sonic gaped at what he saw. A tiny human girl, who couldn't have been more than two or three years old was covered in blood and clinging to the dead body of her mother. A man and somewhat older boy (her father and older brother, Sonic guessed) lay close by.

"Tails," Sonic barked into a wrist communicator, "send an ambulance and police to my location! Almost an entire family's been murdered here!"

Without a second thought, the hedgehog rushed over and gently pried the little girl from her mother's corpse. As the toddler buried her face into Sonic's sand-colored chest, moonlight filtering in from the doorway revealed two small wounds on her neck; they looked suspiciously like bite marks. She didn't seem to be suffering from them, though, so Sonic dismissed them and decided to try calming her down.

"Hey," he tried in a calm voice, hoping to Chaos that he was more soothing than he thought he sounded, "it's gonna be okay. You're safe with me." Sonic hoped that he could talk this child into calming down, he had never been terrific with kids. Thankfully, her bawling turned to sobs at the sound of a gentle, friendly-sounding voice, and she soon quieted down enough to look at her rescuer with shiny crying eyes.

"Hey there," Sonic greeted with a smile, "my name's Sonic. What's yours?"

"M-Mallory." The toddler turned to look at her family once again, but was stopped when Sonic's gloved hand gently pushed her face back towards him.

"It's okay," Sonic reassured her as he received an incoming message from Tails, "help is on the way. You're gonna be fine."

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

No matter what the circumstances were, Mallory couldn't help smiling as she remembered first meeting Sonic and his friends. Before the authorities had arrived, Sonic's two-tailed fox friend, Tails had hurried to the scene, followed instantly by Amy Rose, a pink hedgehog madly in love with Sonic (Mallory knew he secretly returned her affections, though he would never admit it to himself.) Over the years, after she'd been placed in the orphanage, Sonic or some of his friends would occasionally drop by to visit Mallory and say hello (no one had ever seemed interested in adopting her), or she'd sometimes run into them while out shopping, or if she was just out and about.

In fact, while strolling through Twinkle Park one day, Mallory had bumped into Amy on her way to the shopping center. After the two friends chatted for a while, the rose-colored hedgehog insisted that Mallory join her at the mall (actually, the rose-colored hedgehog had grabbed Mallory's wrist and began to hurry in that direction.) It was no burden, though, Mallory did enjoy shopping from time to time. That day, after almost two hours, Mallory put together her favorite outfit:

It was a layered V-neck tank top, a soft neon orange that complemented her hair surprisingly well. Mallory's favorite pair of jeans were studded with dozens small diamonds at the pockets and hems of the legs. On the teen's feet were a gold pair of flats, covered entirely in glitter, a silver stripe trailed over the toes, shimmering in sunlight. Despite her long, thick hair, two earrings were clearly seen dangling from Mallory's earlobes: a long pair of bright blue feathers, the color of a summer sky and decorated with black and white glitter, and more small diamonds provided extra flair. To top it all off, a hair wrap dangled from the top of Mallory's head. It consisted of brilliant colored strings – red, green, yellow, and pink – all woven in a pattern, fading from one color to the next. A lavender crystal bead was nestled at the bottom of the wrap.

For the last few days, however, Mallory had been forced to cover her beloved tank top with a dark navy pull-over sweatshirt, often concealing her face with its hood. Not only was it crucial that she hide her identity from certain people for the foreseeable future, but she couldn't just walk around casually with a huge gaping hole in the shirt's chest, not to mention the enormous blood stain that had completely ruined the shirt.

It was that night that changed her life – and ended it – forever.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

During his previous adventure, Mallory had seen her azure friend grinding on one of the many rails (that appeared to levitate) that adorned the skies of the metropolis, his signature ruby shoes acting as a skateboard. As she shielded her eyes from the blinding sunlight, Mallory smiled and watched him glide through the sky, along with Tails, and their friend, Knuckles, the red echidna. He was a good pal, but had a very short temper; Mallory just loved teaming up with Sonic now and then to get a reaction from him. Still, the two had remained fast friends, and Knuckles had taught Mallory much about self-defense, and how to fight back if attacked. Tails had even fashioned a weapon for her to wield, should the need ever arise: a small ray gun that she could hold in one hand. Its beams would not harm other living beings, only stun them for a short time (similar to a taser), but any mechanical being would be decimated if hit in the correct spot.

The heroic trio soon flew off the rails and landed on the roof of a nearby building. Eager to help her friends in any way possible, the teen rushed towards the building's entrance as fast as her legs would carry her. Grunts, coupled with clangs against metal, grew louder the higher she climbed. Mallory's stomach dropped when she heard three cries of pain, each about a minute apart, motivating her to accelerate her ascent even more. When Mallory finally reached the final step, she thrust the ceiling trapdoor open, her azure eyes locking onto her friends.

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were all sprawled out on the roof. Knuckles was on his knee, struggling to catch his breath; Tails was flat on his back, and Sonic was trying (and slowly succeeding) to climb to his feet. Mallory sighed with relief. Her friends were all down, but nowhere near out. But something gripped her heart with fear once again. The last remaining robot was charging its gun – and aiming directly at the blue hedgehog.

"Oh, no you don't," the girl growled furiously. Before the machine could react, a large weight was thrown into its side, sending it to the ground. Some bits of outer armor were chipped off, but the robot was still fully functional. Mallory swore she saw the lens of its optics shrink for a split second, followed by a barely audible clicking sound . . .

Without warning, a blue ball, covered in thousands of tiny spines rocketed into the incapacitated robot like a cannon ball, sending it flying in pieces. As the startled human gathered her bearings, the blue cannon ball uncurled his body.

"Whew! Thanks, Mal!" Sonic flashed his old friend one of his famous grins and a thumbs-up, earning a small beam from the girl. "That thing really almost had us!"

"You mean, 'almost had _you_,'" Knuckles scoffed as he rose to his feet, dusting himself off. But it was hard to miss a look of embarrassment in the scarlet echidna's face. Behind him, Tails had picked himself off the ground as well.

Sonic's only response was a roll of his deep green eyes.

"So, Sonic," Mallory began, "tell me what's going on. Maybe I can help you guys out this time."

"It's just Eggman, up to his old tricks again," the cobalt speedster shrugged.

"He says he's developed the ultimate weapon," Tails wailed, his twin tails flapping furiously behind him as they finally began to spin around like two helicopter blades, pulling him into the air. "We only have three days to stop him!"

"That so?" Mallory placed one hand on her hip, an amused smile on her face. "And since you guys are grinding like you own the skies, I can assume he's showing his ugly face here in the city?"

"So we've heard," Sonic nodded with another shrug. "We've got it covered for now, but we'll let you know if we need any extra help!" Thanking his friend again for the save, Sonic hopped onto the next rail, and the three heroes were gone in a flash.

Mallory watched her friends leave with a small smile. She was disappointed he hadn't asked her to join them on their quest (again), but she trusted that the three of them could handle Eggman on their own. Besides, she'd helped them out of many tight corners in the past. They were more than capable of taking care of themselves.

Still, over the years, Mallory had come to view the entire gang like family, brothers and sisters, Sonic, Tails, and Amy especially. She couldn't help worrying about them when they went on big quests without her.

_Get a grip, Mallory,_ she scolded herself, _they'll be fine._ _They'll defeat Eggman and come back home, just like always!_

Smiling fondly to herself, Mallory turned and headed back to the orphanage, just a few blocks away. It was a fairly nice building made of concrete. It wasn't very big, but there were few children staying there at present. Mallory had her own room; it was fairly simple with white walls, a dresser, and a single bed. The covers were a soft blue color, and Mallory's jet-black hair seemed to give the ivory blanket and pillowcase a slight glow. The bed itself was very comfortable, not too soft or firm.

As darkness fell, Mallory crawled into her bed, completely unaware that, thousands of miles away, the enraged villain had just received a perfect photograph of her face.

And was coming for her right now.

~.~.~.~.~

"Ugh," Mallory groaned as she was forced back to consciousness from a dead sleep. After cursing angrily a few times, she rubbed her eyes and prepared to return to the blissful oblivion she'd been purged from. But something outside stopped her. For a split second, Mallory's room was entirely engulfed in an eerie red glow. When her sapphire eyes darted to the window, the teenager threw her arms in front of them instinctively. But not before catching a glimpse of two small beacons of blood-colored light that almost seemed to be _looking_ at her . . .

As soon as it came, it was gone. Mallory's room returned to normal, but she was far from relaxed. In fact, Mallory was a bit frightened. All previous drowsiness chased off, the girl threw on her clothes, and slipped a navy sweatshirt over her orange tank top, zipping it up. Feeling her jean pocket for her special gun, Mallory silently opened her bedroom window, and slunk off into the night.

Even with her formidable fighting abilities and ray gun as protection, Mallory felt extremely vulnerable in the dead of night. There was not a single star in the sky, and the moon was absent, making the city that much darker; not even a sliver of comfort from the moon's beautiful glow. But to the girl's surprise, there was absolutely no one out tonight, not even in the alleyways (not that Mallory would have dared venture down there anyway.) For some bizarre reason, Mallory was even more unnerved by this fact. She was completely alone in the city. At midnight.

For an instant, she considered calling Sonic, but then realized that he was probably sound asleep at this time, a long way away as well.

She didn't know what compelled her to do so, but Mallory suddenly realized where she was headed: the very building where she had saved Sonic's life earlier that day. Her mind was in a complete fog as she opened the (strangely) unlocked door and ascended the stairs.

_I have to find out what's going on,_ Mallory's mind insisted, as every instinct in her body screeched at her to turn around and run back to the orphanage as fast as she possibly could. She just had to satisfy her curiosity, no matter what the cost.

Her heart raced faster than ever as her fingers wrapped around the trapdoor handle, and pushed upwards.

As she climbed through the opening, Mallory froze at the sight. Right on the edge of the roof, was a hedgehog. But there was something . . . off about him. Mallory couldn't be sure what, but she just got a terrifying vibe from him. It was all she could do not to scurry back down the trapdoor and bolt for home. It was hard to make out in the darkness, but he appeared to be wearing a cape.

"So," the hedgehog spoke. Mallory flinched at his voice. It was robotic, definitely, but full of venom and malice, "you're the one who saved my counterpart earlier today."

No response. Mallory's vocal cords had become paralyzed with terror, though she maintained a face of simple confusion. Her entire body froze completely when the ominous hedgehog slowly turned to face her.

His entire body was made of metal. His spines were a dark blue, and his silver arms shone brightly, despite the lack of moonlight. Dagger-like claws made up his fingers. Last but not least, his deep crimson optics pierced through Mallory's very soul.

"I don't take kindly to meddlers," he growled, sending chills down Mallory's spine. The robot slowly brought his hand to his face, loudly closing his fist. The metal clanged dangerously. "Nor do I offer second chances."

"Who are you," Mallory demanded, not quite sure if she had shouted or not. She couldn't hold in a gasp – almost a cry – of fear when he zoomed, almost seeming to teleport right in front of her, his sharp, pointed nose almost touching her chest.

"I am the new ruler of this world," he replied darkly, grabbing Mallory's collar and pulling her down, "I shall become its supreme overlord. I am Metal Sonic." If Metal Sonic's face would have allowed it, a demented grin would have overtaken his features at the sight of the terror in his prey's brilliant blue eyes.

On the verge of true panic, Mallory's hand shot down to her pocket and felt around for her gun. Before her brain could even process it, however, the human found herself violently slammed to the ground. Her mechanical assailant casually knelt down above her as she took in large gulps of oxygen, raising his claws high above his head.

It was then that fight-or-flight kicked in. Nothing in the world mattered to Mallory anymore, other than to survive, regardless of the cost. Without thinking, Mallory grabbed his wrist and pushed it away, using the brief moment of his shock to throw him off of her.

Or, at least, attempt to.

Much faster than any human could have done, Metal Sonic recovered from the element of surprise, and threw the girl back down to the concrete roof. Without a shred of hesitation or remorse, he raised his hand once again, and brought it back down. Four sharp claws raked through Mallory's throat like blades.

As desperately as she wanted to, Mallory could not howl the agony she was feeling; either she was in too much pain, too much shock, or her vocal cords had been sliced clean in half. Perhaps all of these were true.

Futile though it was, Mallory couldn't just let him get off without at least _trying_ to put up a fight. But at her feeble attempt to push him again, Metal Sonic simply grabbed the collar of her tank top again, pulled her up, and sealed her fate.

He impaled her. Right through the chest. With his bare hand.

Through all the excruciation, Mallory swore she heard a small chuckle escape her attacker. But she lost all awareness as he tossed her to the ground like she was trash, and took off into the sky. Tears poured from Mallory's eyes as she lay dying, struggling to come to terms with her fate. It was true, she wanted more than anything to join her family in the peaceful afterlife. But not right now, not when Sonic might still need her help. She still had work to do on this earth.

Alas, it seemed fate had other plans. Her vision turned to black as a burning sensation spread throughout her entire body.

~.~.~.~.~

When Mallory had awoken, nothing had been the same. Coming to in itself had been quite enough of a shock. Coming to while wrapped tightly from head to toe – literally – in saran wrap, in a very tight space, was just icing on the cake. Calming herself down just enough to think, Mallory fought against her bindings just enough to tear through them. Quite easily, as well, she was surprised to note. Pushing against the roof of the space, Mallory's head soon popped out into the open. Scanning the room, and finding no one, she climbed out of her container, and examined herself.

Her sweatshirt had a dark red stain in the middle, that flowed down to the hem. There was a rather large hole as well. Daring to place her hand through it, Mallory was stunned to feel almost perfectly smooth flesh, save for a few small bumps. Her hand darted to her throat, and a similar sensation was felt. Then, she thought to actually _look_ at her hands . . .

They were frighteningly pale, dead looking. There was a tiny bit of color to her skin, but one would have to look strenuously for it. The flesh itself felt a tad bit . . . rubbery as well. It was much different than she remembered before Metal Sonic had attacked her.

It was many moments before Mallory realized something: she wasn't breathing. But why? Didn't the human body breathe automatically? Taking in a big gulp of air, the girl's throat burned furiously. Her mouth went dry, and her nostrils were overwhelmed with the scent of blood. Or rather, hundreds of different scents of blood.

_No, no it can't be,_ Mallory panicked, desperate to avoid facing the horrible truth. _I have to get out of here!_

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Returning to the present, Mallory left Station Square and dashed through the woods, far faster than any human could ever hope to run. To her, it didn't seem all that fast, but this was nowhere near her maximum speed; if she had truly given it her all, Shadow the Hedgehog himself would be put to great shame.

To avoid rousing suspicions, the teenage girl had purchased a new top and a new sweatshirt, disposing of the permanently soiled garments afterward. She now donned a magenta V-neck tank top with ruffled layers, and a gray sweatshirt, zipped halfway.

Scaling an oak tree like a lizard, Mallory made herself comfortable in one of the higher branches and continued to reminisce.

~.~.~.~.~

After first escaping the morgue, she had bolted out of Station Square as fast as her legs would allow her; she would have sworn she'd teleported. Taking a desperate look into a nearby pond, she'd discovered dark crimson pupils, almost maroon. Upon opening her mouth to cry out in fear and denial, Mallory had seen that her canines had been replaced with fangs – they were only slightly longer than her original canines, but they were much, _much_ sharper.

Mallory wanted with every fiber of her lifeless being to scream in denial and shame, but she couldn't do it. No matter how she tried, she just couldn't make the sound come out.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

After her first feeding (sneaking into the hospital for an old blood bag), Mallory had tried to speak normally with no result. The burn from her thirst had disappeared with her feeding, but a dull stinging lingered in her throat. There was also a slight tingling sensation. Upon stroking her neck, Mallory understood. The transformation into a vampire had almost completely healed her wounds (though they would scar her forever), but her vocal cords had indeed been sliced clean in two by Metal Sonic's claws. The venom would eventually heal them fully, but at least for now, she was mute, utterly silent.

"Ssh, Amy it's okay."

Mallory's heart leapt at the sound of a familiar voice. Sonic's. Next to him was Amy Rose, sniffling loudly as she tried so hard not to cry in front of her loved one. But the sobs in between gave it all away. She tried to open her mouth to speak, but all that came out was another cry. That was it. The pink hedgehog wrapped her arms around her sapphire companion, who could do nothing more than return the embrace as he himself tried to hold together.

How had Mallory not heard them before? Now that they were here, she wanted nothing more than to jump from her perch and collect them both in a bear hug, to tell them that she would be all right with time. But alas, even if her vocal cords had remained untouched, Mallory could never be with them again. Not like this. Not in the form of the monster she'd become.

"I'm . . . sorry, Sonic . . ." Amy choked out between sobs, "I know y-you . . . w-were very c-close to her . . ."

"Yeah, I was," the blue hedgehog whispered, Mallory's now-stellar hearing capturing every word, every breath. "But they'll find her body. Then we can have a real . . . funeral."

Sonic had not wanted to say that word, to make it official that his longtime friend was gone.

As Amy buried her face into Sonic's tan chest, his gloved hand caressed her quills in a comforting manner.

Off in the distance, the faint sound of helicopter blades entered Mallory's ears; she spotted the cause long before it approached the ground with her newly perfect eyesight.

_Tails! And Knuckles is with him, too!_

Almost immediately, Mallory detected sobs from the young fox. His eyes looked really bloodshot as well. Knuckles, holding onto the two-tailed vulpine's foot, looked more solemn than Mallory had ever seen him.

"Tails," Sonic addressed, still brushing Amy's quills. The pink hedgehog stifled a sob and looked up at her friends, "any luck?"

The orange fox shook his head, feeling the tears surface again. "I just . . . can't believe she's gone! Why'd he have to kill her?! What did she ever do to him?!"

Sonic wrapped an arm around his adopted little brother as Knuckles placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know, buddy," Sonic murmured, stroking Tails's fur. "But wherever she is, I'm sure Mal's very happy. And I know she'll be watching us on our next adventure." A small smile made its way to the hedgehog's lips, but it vanished almost instantly.

"We need to go," Knuckles announced. "The service is going to start soon." Everyone nodded and slowly turned to leave.

They couldn't have known that their longtime friend was in a tree, listening to every word. And as they turned, Mallory couldn't stop herself from bursting into huge, silent sobs of anguish, rage, shame, and grief. She could never be with her friends again.

She was all alone now, forever.

* * *

**Questions? Advice? Drop a review on your way out!**


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